TFiF: Combed gharifront
After the collision of Australia with the Beringia region, the territory rises hundreds of meters above the sea level, creating a new mountain range and at the same time, breaking the isolation which for thousands of years kept unique groups of fauna and flora, in a event called "The great Sahul Interchange". This led to a lower extinction, causing the loss of dozens of species that were not able adapt well to the new conditions and competition. But still, one of the old clades native of the ancient continent is kept clinging to life, and it is not surprising, because they are the descendants of the Australian archosaurs, the crocodiles. As in South America, in Australia this lineage also had its great expansion, but would not be as derived morphologically as the last one, however, they managed to stay and prosper, adopting different niches. When the continent collided, many of the members of this group managed to survive without any problem, and some of them had the ability to expand into some of the new environments created by the mountain ranges. A small group of stranger semiaquatic narrow jawed crocodile called Gharifronts, managed to take its course on the rivers to the mountains, up to the huge plateaus and plains, and over time, these were able to adapt to such conditions, slightly developing new features but keeping many of the basic aspects of its bodies. During the end of the Crescgeon (145 m.y.), only one species managed to survive this hard colonization, is the Combed gharifront (Acutofrontisuchus ctenidontis). This is a kind of crocodylomorph of approximately 3 meters long that lives in the northeast of the vast plateaus of which were the Alaska coasts. Unlike its crocodile ancestors, it is better equipped to withstand low temperatures, being a kind of "mesotherm" animal. During the summer months, the Combed gharifront always moving, eating and in some cases mating, but upon entering the dark moment of the year (because in this point Australia, and the new mountains are so close to the poles), these "hibernate" and enter a state of dormancy until spring arrives. This species is a derived filter feeder, so it has changed their jaw dentition, developing a row of filaments that allow filtering its main food, algae and crustaceans. At the back, there are still a group of normal teeth. The skin of this is dark brown color, punctuated by several spots of bright orange, this caused by the accumulation of carotenes that get from its diet. As today's crocodiles, the female laid the eggs on a mound, usually in times of summer when the sun and heat are at its peak. The eggs take about 1 month to hatch. The females don’t give any care for its offspring, but these are able to care for themselves after having hatched. Something interesting is that the young have a very marked dimorphism in relation to the adults, as this have a short jaw full of teeth, with a more gracile morphology, with long legs and a slim body. These features make them for several months into small carnivores that feed on small creatures. On the next 8 months, the jawbone begins to lengthen, losing most of the teeth and are being replaced by bristles, its body becomes more robust and in 5 years, these are sexually mature, reaching to have a lifespan of about 50 years. Category:Reptiles Category:Crocodiles